RB Clayton waived by 49ers after injury

NFL

Published 4:00 am, Monday, August 17, 2009

The 49ers lost a running back and gained a fullback on Sunday when Thomas Clayton was waived with an injury settlement after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Friday's exhibition opener against Denver.

Fullback Bill Rentmeester was signed to take Clayton's place on the 80-man roster. He's a rookie free agent from Wisconsin who was waived by San Diego on Aug. 5.

Another fullback, Zak Kesey, fractured his forearm against Denver and will be out eight weeks.

The 49ers will be in Napa Tuesday and Wednesday for a series of practices against the Raiders in advance of their game against Oakland on Saturday night.

Vick cried in prison: Michael Vick says he cried in prison because of the guilt he felt about being involved in dogfighting.

In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, Vick said the day he walked into prison he realized "the magnitude of the decisions that I made.

"And, you know, it's no way of, you know, explaining, you know, the hurt and the guilt that I felt. And that was the reason I cried so many nights. And that put it all into perspective," he said.

A three-time Pro Bowl pick during six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick served 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring and was reinstated last month by the NFL after being out of action since 2006.

He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. On Sunday, Vick went 1-for-2 on a goal-line drill as practice closed; he was kept afterward for extra work.

Saints' kicker to be suspended: New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley plans to serve a four-game suspension when the regular season begins because he tested positive for a banned stimulant.

Hartley said Sunday he obtained the Adderall prescription pills from a former college friend and used them to stay awake while driving at night from Dallas to New Orleans for an offseason workout.

Grossman out: Houston's Rex Grossman is expected to miss about a month with a hamstring injury and the Texans are looking to sign another quarterback.

Grossman, Houston's third quarterback and the former Bears starter, was injured in Saturday's win over the Chiefs and coach Gary Kubiak says he doesn't feel comfortable finishing the preseason with only Matt Schaub and backup Dan Orlovsky.

Briefly: Cowboys receiver Roy Williams missed the team's second practice because of a sprained left wrist sustained when he came down hard earlier in the day. Also, cornerback Mike Jenkins returned to practice after missing a week because of a sprained right ankle. ... Wide receiver Brandon Marshall and free safety Brian Dawkins returned to practice for the Broncos. ... Jets rookie Mark Sanchez will start at quarterback against the Ravens in a preseason "Monday Night Football" game on Aug. 24. New York also signed undrafted free-agent linebacker Joshua Mauga.